Grilled Tuna with Mango Salsa

This recipe is so quick and easy, and very refreshing especially in the summer time when you really don't feel like eating something heavy. Although I love grilling my red meat In the summer time, this is a great alternative when the misses starts complaining.

As I am from a small lobster-fishing town in Iceland I had the luxury of adding some grilled lobster to my recipe. This is off course not necessary but it does make it very exclusive.

Mango Salsa

1/2 a mango, peeled and diced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 tbsp soy sauce

handful fresh coriander, chopped

2 tbsp honey

Tuna Steaks

2-3 cm thick tuna steaks

coriander seeds, crushed

olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Place the mango, chill, onion, lime juice, soy sauce, coriander and honey into a bowl and mix well.

2. Season the tuna steaks lightly with salt on both sides. Mix some pepper with the crushed coriander seeds and sprinkle on both sides of the tuna. Drizzle some olive oil over the steaks and place them on the hot grill for 1 - 2 minutes on each side.

3. Slice the tuna in 2 cm slices and serve hot with the mango salsa.

Icelandic Profiteroles - Isländska Semlor

Once a year in Iceland we dedicate a whole day for these treats.... it's called "Bolludagur". Everyone goes crazy for them and they come in all kinds of different flavors.

125ml milk

200ml water

150g flour

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

100g butter

4 eggs, lightly beaten

strawberry jam

5dl simple cream

chocolate sauce:

200g dark chocolate

30g butter

125ml full fat milk

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Place the milk, cold water, salt, sugar into a pan and set over a low heat. Once the sugar and salt has dissolved add the butter. Once the butter has melted, bring to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat then tip in the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. As soon as the mixture starts to come away from the side of the pan, stop beating and tip onto a plate to cool.

2. Return the mixture to the pan, then gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, mixing well between each addition, until you have a smooth paste.

3. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Spoon the pastry into a piping bag. Now pipe small balls onto the baking sheet, spaced well apart. Bake for 18-20 minutes until well risen and golden brown.

4. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

5. Whip the cream until fluffy. Cut each one in half. Add a teaspoon of strawberry jam on the bottom then the cream and close with the top.

6. For the chocolate sauce, break the chocolate into small pieces in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave. When the chocolate has melted add the butter and stir. Gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth sauce. Serve the cream-filled profiteroles with the hot chocolate sauce drizzled over.

Chocolate and Almond Cake

This cake is really fantastic! Light, yet rich and terribly simple to make. I wish I took this picture but my friend Marius "the gentle giant" from Norway took a series of pictures for a dessert book which is still to be published!

225g butter, room temperature

2 dl caster sugar

1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

1 dl brown sugar

4 eggs, separated

200 g sweet almonds

200g dark chockolate 70%

icing sugar to dust

1. Butter a round loose based pan (25cm) and put baking paper in the bottom so it will be easier to remove the cake from the base.

2. Put the butter, 1 ½ dl sugar, vanilla seeds and brown sugar in a bowl and whisk together until fluffy. Then add the egg yolks and stir together with a spatula.

3. Put the almonds in a food processor and pulse until fine sandy consistency. Add the almonds and chockolate to the bowl and mix together

4. Whisk the egg whites with the rest of the sugar until stiff in a separate bowl. Add ½ the egg whites to the cake mix and fold together, then add the other half and fold again. Pour the cake mix in the baking pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes and shift some icing sugar on top. Serve with strawberries and whipped cream.